Hustled Steps
by brackenfurlover
Summary: The dark, troubled tales of a rather peculiar tom. Based off an OC character. Read & Review! c:
1. Prologue

**Yep. Your least favorite author is back! :D -shot- Ha. I hope I'm not your least favorite. x3 Well. I've decided to share the story of one of my characters from another site; a big bundle of fluff named Hustlestep. All of the characters will be from the other site, so I give all credit to them. The only characters I keep credit for are Crimsonstar, Hustlestep, and Frostedkit. xD The others belong to my friends there. Anyway. Very short prologue, but the first chapter should be somewhat interesting. Not sure how much I'll include in it. xD Well. Stay tuned, my faithful readers!**

Why is a raven like a maple tree?

I was never normal.

Never - through my birth, my life, even my death – was I considered to be a conventional warrior by _anyone_ that really knew me.

My parents, my siblings, my friends and family; even my future mate and kits knew I wasn't a regular, well-tempered, goody-four-paws.

I've always been unique; I like to think I remain that way, even in my life in StarClan.

My story won't be some amazing, fantastic bundle of lies, joy, or misery. It won't be something positively splendid and life-changing for you to know. You may feel yourself wary of the chance that I am insane. You might dart to your paws and hightail it out of here, never wanting to listen to a single thing that comes out of my mouth again. You may laugh, you may cry, you may feel unemotional. But it's my story. My tale. My own, private little history that means more to me than it does to anyone else, but that I want to share with you.

So listen on, or watch with fuzzy deaf ears; I care not.

This is my saga: my tale; my story; my breath; my blood; my life.

Maybe at the end, you'll be able to answer my question.


	2. Chapter 1

**And here we go. 8D! Chapter one. **

**Disclaimer: The names Radiantshine, Boltstrike, Briarheart, Blackbird, Quailkit, and Robinkit belong to members of another site. Husltekit and Crimsonblaze belong to me. Thank you. c:**

**CHAPTER ONE**

The day was a sunny one when I was born, oddly enough, and nothing frightening or heinous was happening in the Clans. The sky was a clear sapphire-blue when my mother rushed into the nursery, carrying hardly a cloud on its endless journey across the world. My mother, unlike the calm sky, was in pain and restless, wanting to relieve herself of us as soon as possible. She barged into the nursery, shoving the other ThunderClan queens, her sister among them, out of the way so she could flop over onto the ground and let us come out into the world. I never understood – and still don't – why she-cats ever _want _to go through that pain. Why would one want to swing around a bulging stomach in the middle of greenleaf enduring endless pains of cramps and kicks, only to be rewarded with a stressful birth and greedy little fluff balls wanting nothing but milk? I'll never understand it, but my mother made and accepted that sacrifice; on that warm greenleaf morning, my siblings and I came into the world.

I didn't know much in the first few days after my birth. What I did know was this: there was a big lump that provided food to me and she was rather warm, she supplied me with a rich offering of milk, and that I had competition for this food. This competition battled with me constantly over the rights to getting food; sometimes they fought well and beat me to the lump when I wanted food, but other times I prevailed and got there first. At these times, I would drink until my stomach nearly burst open with satisfaction, then roll over and fall into a deep slumber. The competition – I quickly learned they were the siblings that had been born with me – would soon follow, having finally gotten to the food source.

When my senses began to fade in, I realized there were other forms near us, ones other than my siblings and the big lump I now knew as Mother. High-pitched garbling, slightly muffled by my dimmed senses, alerted me that more beings were there that were like me. I had started making little squeaks and squawks by then, though my sisters were far chattier than me. I could identify the higher noises as sounds from kits like myself, but the lower tones puzzled me. Mother would sometimes rumble lightly, and then produce noises that were lower and slower than the ones we made. Other noises would respond to her, though I could not feel the vibrations through the ground like I did when I was pressed up against Mother and she spoke. I was always soured by this talking, as it took away attention from us, but I was also inquisitive. Were there more mothers, I wondered, scattered around us? Were there little clones of us? I started to get answers as time passed and my senses developed further.

Soon enough, I had opened my eyes. Things were blurry at first, and I stayed near Mother for a while because I found her massive, ginger color blocked other sights when I buried my head in her fur. After a bit, I felt brave enough to pull away from her to look around. Silently contemplating and noting that my vision was clearer now, I looked around. I first saw one of my sisters, one with a fluffy orange-brown tabby pelt, lightly lifting a paw and poking the ground. Her green eyes were open too, and she was looking at me curiously with them as she prodded the earth. I blinked at her slightly and identified her as Quailkit. My sense of hearing had developed with my eyesight; after a bit, I had been able to tell who Mother was referring to when she said an assortment of words. My sisters were Quailkit and Robinkit – Robinkit was my short-furred, gray sister with a sweet disposition. I was known as Hustlekit, which I found to be far more interesting than those other names; though of course, I may be biased. I had heard the lower voices, which I soon learned where just voices of other cats nearby, refer to Mother as Crimsonblaze; I found the name suited her when I saw her bright fur.

Another cat was almost always in the nursery near Crimsonblaze. He was big and had inky black fur, and he gave off a comforting presence that I liked having near me. I had heard Crimsonblaze call him Blackbird, and her tone always carried something honeyed and affectionate in it. It was obvious she cared very much about the tom, and I instantly labeled him as my father when I saw him. He blinked calmly at me, then lightly licked the top of my head and ruffled up the fur. I shook my head to settle the fluff, and then looked at my paws. They were white - bright, bright white – and so different from Blackbird's charcoal coat. I liked that; I could tell I was going to be big like him, but I'd be different from him too. Cats would know we were alike yet not get us confused.

There were more cats, but only two I really cared for then. One was a brown queen Crimsonblaze was constantly chattering with. She was referred to as Radiantshine, and she spoke rather softly. I liked her because my mother liked her; that, and she was family. She was to Crimsonblaze what Quailkit and Robinkit were to me. She was always kind to me and my siblings, and her little kits weren't too rough or loud. There was always another tom with her, and I figured that he was the father of Radiantshine's kits by the way he was so tender with her. I think his name was Briarheart, though I never really associated with him after living in ThunderClan for such a short time. The other cat that I found I liked was a tom Crimsonblaze called Boltstrike. He was white with gray patches, and he was my uncle. I'm not sure why, but I took to him right away. As soon as I saw him, I purred loudly and shuffled clumsily over to him. I rested my head on his paws and stayed there until my gluttonous stomach gnawed at me and told me to get over to Crimsonblaze for food. Whenever he came into the den, I marched over to him like I owned him, swinging my plume of a tail high in the air. It seemed to amuse my family and make Boltstrike feel loved, so it was all good for me as well.

Life carried on in the nursery. My sisters found their voices, and though I could speak fully well, I preferred to stay silent. Crimsonblaze didn't seem to be worried by it and neither did anyone else, so I wasn't pestered constantly to have a conversation. I got along well with both of my siblings, and the other cats in the den. When Quailkit and Robinkit would play, I'd either join or toss a moss ball over my head, flipping about to catch it with my awkward paws. Blackbird watched us sometimes, then left the den to hunt other times. We all eagerly tried our first bite of prey and loved the taste of mouse.

Everything was going well, but then Crimsonblaze began leaving the den. I had been feeling my mother getting restless lately. She had been in the nursery for a while, and we were getting bigger. The first day she left, she was only gone to stretch her legs and came back within minutes. I was fine with this; she never left when we were sleeping and cuddled up to her. A few days later, though, she left for a long while. Radiantshine and her kits were there to watch us, but I wanted my mother back. I found myself silently curled in a ball, ignoring the attempts of my siblings to get me to play. Crimsonblaze finally returned, and I found that all my cross feelings evaporated as soon as I saw her flaming pelt and the peaceful look in her dull amber eyes. She was back, and all was fine.

It took a couple days before she left again, but Crimsonblaze eventually got up while we were playing and padded out of the nursery. I didn't pay it any mind, but later when we were prepared to nap, she hadn't returned. Where was my mother? Why wasn't she back? Blackbird came in with us, but Crimsonblaze was gone.

She didn't return for three days. When she did, she made a quick arrival, and she took us with her when she left. I didn't know where we were going or why, but I was happy that we were with her again. As we went on, swinging lightly with her gate, I pondered over her words before she fetched us. "A new Clan has arisen," she had mewed breathlessly. It wouldn't be my last time in ThunderClan camp, but the course of my kithood and apprenticehood was changed after that.

**Like, hate, love, worship? R & R, please. :3**


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